Method and apparatus for charging toy torpedoes



C. MACCHIA.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CHARGING TOY TORPEDOES.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 6 I921.

PatentedSept. 5, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

C. MACCHIA.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CHARGING TOY TORPEDOES.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 6 1921.

1,427,906.. Patentedsept- 5, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

V\ V y Patented Sept. 5, 1922:.

CAMILLO MACCHIA, OF A RDMORE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE UNITED STATES FIRE WORKS MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF CARDINGTON, PENNSYL- VANIAY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CHARGING TOY TORP EDOES.

Application filed April 6,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CAMILLO MACOHIA, a citizen of the United States of America, and resident of Ardmore, in the county of Montgomery, State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new and useful Im rovement in Methods and Apparatus for harging Toy Torpedoes, of which the following is a true and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,

which form a part thereof.

My invention relates to the manufacture of toy torpedoes and .has for its object to provide for charging the torpedo shells with explosive and gravel with great rapidity and, as to the explosive particularly, with great accuracy. In its broader sense my invention consists of a method of handling and charging the shells or casings of the torpedoes but. my method involves the use of certain new appliances especially devised for use with it and also invented by me.

My invention will be. best understood as described in connection with the drawings which illustrate it and in which Figure 1 is a perspective View of a frame for holding the torpedo casings in spaced relation with a charge of said casings in place therein.

Figure 2 is a similar view showing in ad.-

dition the operation of charging the casings with explosive by means of a special gage measuring and charging scoop.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Fig. l but showing the operation of filling the casings with gravel.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of one of the casings.

Figure 5 is a sectional elevation of a casing charged with explosive and gravel.

Figure 6 is a similar view of a torpedo closed and ready for use or shipment, and

Figure 7 is a sectional view of one of the measuring scoops of the gage tool shown in Fig. 2.

A is a frame having a flat bottom A parallel side walls A A and a front wall A all of equal height and extending above the bottom A for a distance preferably equal to the height of a torpedo container. The frame, as shown, also has a rear. wall A which serves as an abutment for springs D, D. The side walls A are slotted, as shown, at B, B, and these slots serve as guideways 1921. Serial No. 458,893.

for the ends C of a follower plate C which is pressed forward by the springs D, D. E, E, E, are straight flat partition plates fitting in the frame between walls A A but movable therein.

' F, F, etc. are the casings or containers of the toy torpedoes, preferably made up, as

shown, of a cylinder F of wound and glued paper with a cap F fitted on its lower end. These containers are placed in the frame A in even parallel rows separated by partitions E and against the rear row rests the plunger C, which exerts sufiicient pressure to insure that the rows of containers will be held firmly in the frame.

Having secured the containers .in the frame as described I next charge. them with explosive powder, using for this purpose the gage measuring and charging scoop made up, as shown, of a series of measuring and charging scoops, G, G, etc. equal in number to the containers held in a parallel row in the frame A and secured on the ends of a series of rods G which by means of a cross bar G are secured to a handle G The scoops are dipped into the powder and raised each charged with an equal quantity thereof as shown at H in Fig. 7, and then the scoops are brought into alignment with.

tainers equally charged as shown in Fig. 5

in which K indicates the gravel and I the explosive charge.

After charging the containers, as described, they are removed from the charging frame and closed, preferably as shown in Fig. 6, a cap F similar to cap F is placed on the top of the container and glued to it if desired but for the best results the caps are secured in place by a wrapping of glued paper as indicated at F.

The torpedo shown in Fig. 4 is claimed as my invention in my application filed March 15, 1921, Serial No. 452,466.

Having now described my invention,

what I claim as new-and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

l. The-method of charging toy torpedo containers of cylindrical form and uniform size and capacity which consists in placing such containers in a holding frame in parallel rows of equal numbers of containers, dumping explosive powder in measured charges simultaneously into the containers of each row until the containers in the frame have been charged and then further charging the containers with gravel'by sweepin a mass of gravel over the top of the frame and its contained rows of cylindrical containers. v y

2. The method of charging toy torpedo containers of cylindrical form and uniform size and capacity which consists in placing such containers in a holding frame in parallel rows of equal numbers of containers,

separating and aligning said parallel rows by straight partitions movable in the frame, pressing the partitions and containers together by elastic pressure to properly grip and position them in the frame, dumpmg explosive powder in measured charges simultaneously into the containers of each row until the containers in the frame have been charged and then further chargingthe containers with gravel by sweeping a mass of gravel over the top of the frame and its contained rows ofcylindrical co'n-" tainers.

3. A'hand tool for simultaneously charging the containers of toy torpedoes arranged in a spaced parallel row, which consists of a series of measuring scoops each adapted to contain a similar charge of explosive powder, said scoops being laterally separated from 'ea'ch other and rigidly held in a spaced row by attachments extending being movable in the frame and a spring 210- tu'ated plunger plate acting to press the containers and partition plates together and grip them in the frame.

CAMILLO MACCHIA. 

